Synopsis
PTI
As the clock ticks down to Budget 2021-22, even as the farmers’ agitation continues, with no sign of end to the impasse between incensed farmers and a determined Centre, one thing is clear. Unlike in the past, when agriculture often got no more than lip service, this time round, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman will take care to ensure the Budget sends the right message: that this is a government that cares for farmers and farmer welfare.
About time, too. Though government has stuck to its declared goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, a promise repeated by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech last year, it was apparent, well before Covid-19 hit us, that the government would not be able to deliver. The problems of the agriculture sector go much deeper. The pandemic has only made the promise more distant. Add to that the (needless) apprehensions created by the new farm acts and the ongoing farmer agitation, and the Finance Minister has her hands full.